Former Election Commi-ssioner (EC) Mahbub Talukdar passed away of cardiac arrest on Wednesday. After a long battle with cancer and other diseases he died at the age of 80.
Talukdar left his wife and three children behind. Among her three children, the eldest daughter lives
with her parents in Dhaka. The remaining two are live in the United States and Canada.
Talukdar's eldest daughter Irin Mahbub confirmed the death news and said, her father died while undergoing treatment at United Hospital in Dhaka.
Mahbub Talukder's physical condition deteriorated in the morning. He suffered a massive cardiac arrest and died around 1 pm.
He had prostate cancer for the last few years as well as some old age-related complications.
A funeral prayer session was held at Azad Mosque in Gulshan. Burial will be decided by the family after return of his two children from USA and Canada.
Mahbub Talukder was a creative writer in Bengali Literature. His published books are 44 including poems, stories, novels, memoirs, travelogues. But he is mainly he is well known for his poetry and fiction writing. He was awarded the Bangla Academy Prize in 2012.
According to Election Commission website, Mahbub Talukder was born on February 13, 1942 in Netrakona Purbadhala Upazila. He studied at Dhaka Nawabpur High School, Dhaka College and Dhaka University.
Later he taught at Dhaka Jagannath College, Bangladesh University of Engineering (BUET) Department of Architecture and Chittagong University Bengali Department.
In 1971, he participated in the Liberation War and joined the Ministry of Information of Mujibnagar Government. At that time he was also associated with Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra.
On January 24, 1972, President Abu Sayeed Chowdhury appointed him Special Officer to the President in the rank of Deputy Secretary. He was the public relations officer of President Muhammad Ullah.
After Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman became President, Mahbub Talukder served as his Assistant Press Secretary (Deputy Secretary). On Bangabandhu's orders, he was subsequently inducted into the Cadre Service, which later evolved into the BCS administration.
He was once the Director General of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy. At the end of his career, he was an additional secretary in the Bangladesh Parliament Secretariat in 1998. He started his duties as Election Commissioner in February 2017. The five-year period ends in February this year.
